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Last major VHS retailer finally abandons the format
People in the consumer electronics industry have been expecting the end of the VHS era ever since the introduction of the DVD back in the late '90s. But while most of us probably thought the format was already long gone, it wasn’t until recently that the last major supplier of VHS tapes, Distribution Video Audio, shipped its final truckload of the format.
The company prided itself in keeping little tidbits of pop culture alive and supported part of their $20 million a year business by selling mass amounts of VHS tapes on the cheap. And even though watching a movie on modern disc formats (or via digital distribution) is certainly a much richer experience than watching on VHS, one can’t deny the effect this technology had in the video field – I particularly loved the ability to catch up on any missed TV show by recording into a blank tape.
I wonder how long it will be until DVD suffers the same fate and if it will be Blu-ray or digital downloads taking over – they both still have a long road ahead.
User Comments (5)
Post a comment| DarkCobra on December 23, 2008 12:22 PM | For those of us old enough to remember, you served us well and gave us many happy memories.
Goodbye old friend . . .
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| wendig0 on December 23, 2008 4:33 PM | They say that DVD will follow suit in about 4 years, giving way to bluray technology.
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| gobbybobby on December 23, 2008 5:13 PM | it won't fully be made redundent, many small shops still record CCTV on to VHS Tapes. it will be like the Sega Megadrive, everyone still has one, but does not use it much anymore...., My nan still uses her record Player! I did have a VHS recorder in every TV set in my House, but now there is not room, as I have a DVD Player and a Sky (Digital TV Provider) Box in the way. you can pick up devices that convert VHS tapes into DVD disks easily, People still use Tapes and tape Players.
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| yukka on December 23, 2008 7:51 PM | dvds will be around for a good while yet. no need to throw the old collection out unless you have a big telly and buying a good upscaler would work out cheaper than replacing 200 dvds (my collection more or less).
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| phantasm66 on December 24, 2008 1:42 AM | My Grandchildren will probably never believe me.
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